Audi is providing hands-on experience of sustainable future mobility and continuing its involvement in the German government’s “Electric Mobility Showcase” support program.

From mid April, 40 of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron will take to the roads in three different projects revolving around electric driving.

“The first time we were involved in the Electric Mobility Showcase in 2012, we gleaned valuable insights into how purely electric driving copes in everyday operation,” explained Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at Audi. “We are now taking this involvement a stage further with the Audi A3 Sportback e‑tron, our first production model with plug‑in hybrid drive. Our aim is to analyze how our cars handle a variety of everyday situations, what the participants of the trial expect of them and how that squares with their actual experience.

On Saturday Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg presented a total of 40 Audi A3 Sportback e‑tron models to the testers at the Audi Training Center in Munich, in the presence of Secretary of State Rainer Bomba from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. There are three focus projects for this year’s activities.

The Berlin test participants will be using 15 of the Audi A3 Sportback e‑tron to commute between home and their places of work in an urban setting. The ten cars earmarked for the Munich project place the spotlight on publicly accessible charging and the findings of test candidates who do not have their own private charging point. Finally, in Stuttgart 15 of the A3 Sportback e‑tron will be in use at private households and delivery services.

The Electric Mobility Showcase support program is a joint initiative of the German government and the automotive industry. It has the objective of developing Germany into the lead market and leading provider of electric mobility. The projects conducted each year receive cross-departmental support from the Federal Ministries of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Economic Affairs and Energy, Education and Research, and Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

The brand with the four rings previously took part in several Electric Mobility Showcase projects in 2012, with the Audi A1 e‑tron tested in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Ingolstadt and Garmisch‑Partenkirchen.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]